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Which is better to study for a marketing career, psychology or sociology?
If trying to pursue a career in marketing, which courses would be more beneficial, psychology or sociology courses? #JULY20 #career #future-careers #marketing #career-plan #studies #marketingdegree #business
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Melissa’s Answer
Psychology will allow you the ability to look at the data behind the "why". Why do people purchase from company x over company y? What makes product a more marketable than product b? This can be instrumental in marketing decisions, even as simple as what color should brand use in their logo or what font should the product packaging use?
Sociology will provide trends in human behavior. This is more about society as a whole and less about the specifics of human/purchasing engagements until you dive deeper (full major in sociology).
Sociology will provide trends in human behavior. This is more about society as a whole and less about the specifics of human/purchasing engagements until you dive deeper (full major in sociology).
Great information, thank you!
Kelly
Jennifer Hanlon
External Communications, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Social Media
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Jennifer’s Answer
Hi Kelly! I minored in Marketing and have worked very closely with marketing folks during my career (communications and marketing teams tend to collaborate regularly). I would say Psychology would be your best bet. Studying the mind and understanding why people behave the way they do helps a great deal when it comes to marketing a product or service. A big part of knowing how to properly target a particular demographic is understanding how that demographic behaves/operates and why. Sociology is an interesting subject matter as well, but when it comes to Marketing, Psychology will likely get you further.
Thank you for your answer, that makes a lot of sense.
Kelly
You're very welcome! Glad to be of help.
Jennifer Hanlon
Updated
Deb’s Answer
I would recommend a marketing major, I majored in marketing with a business administration minor. It also depends what type of marketing you want to go into - if you want to go into more of a creative ad agency I would recommend marketing with a digital design minor. If you want to be more of research marketing analyst, then I would recommend psychology with a marketing minor.
Thanks, can't wait to put this advice into action!
Kelly
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Keith’s Answer
Kelly, my advice would be psychology, it is always good to better understand the mind and why people do the things they do from a Marketing perspective. If you can understand those important items you can better understand the customer needs and wants, therefore allowing you to better meet those needs.
Thank you, that makes a lot of sense.
Kelly
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Karen’s Answer
I would agree with the majority here on psychology being the better choice, as you'll learn more about how people react and perceive the world, and what influences them to make the decisions they do (very relevant for marketing). I double majored in psychology and communications.
While ultimately communications was more "marketing-related" out of the two at my school, I definitely saw value in my psychology classes. I tried to take as many social psychology classes as I could since my school offered more of a medical path for psychology, which is something to look out for depending on how your school shapes the psychology major requirements. I would suggest looking into the classes for the major and finding the ones that are most relevant to understanding human behavior.
While ultimately communications was more "marketing-related" out of the two at my school, I definitely saw value in my psychology classes. I tried to take as many social psychology classes as I could since my school offered more of a medical path for psychology, which is something to look out for depending on how your school shapes the psychology major requirements. I would suggest looking into the classes for the major and finding the ones that are most relevant to understanding human behavior.
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Stephanie’s Answer
Hi Kelly!
I would recommend the Psych path. I took a similar path - majored in Psych and minored in Business. Psychology plays a really important role in marketing. From understanding the buyer behavior and leveraging that to drive more successful campaigns to driving increased demand through the fear of missing out/sense of urgency. Using your psych background gives you a leg up to better understand your customers and the journey they take with your products.
I would recommend the Psych path. I took a similar path - majored in Psych and minored in Business. Psychology plays a really important role in marketing. From understanding the buyer behavior and leveraging that to drive more successful campaigns to driving increased demand through the fear of missing out/sense of urgency. Using your psych background gives you a leg up to better understand your customers and the journey they take with your products.
Thank you!
Kelly
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David’s Answer
I would suggest a Psych minor, that will give you an understanding of people and why they do what they do. Majoring in Marketing would help with the mechanics of Marketing you will need. Last, if you can get some education or experience in a focus area that you are passionate about.
If you really want to excel at anything you need to be passionate about it, anything else is just a job.
If you really want to excel at anything you need to be passionate about it, anything else is just a job.
I appreciate your support, David
Kelly
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EmilyAnn’s Answer
I'd say psychology. From what I've seen after working with some marketing folks, it's important to understand your audience. Understanding psychology will give you greater depth and insight into what your audience might perceive or feel. This can be really beneficial!!
Thank you so much!
Kelly
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Sindhuja’s Answer
If one wants to know what marketing strategies might work for individuals, psychology is a good option. It will teach how to think outside of box for self development and what the competitiors might go for.
However, more logical approach would be to go with sociology as that will teach you the dynamics of the society, and afterall marketing is for mass and not a particular individual, unless you wanna sell only one item to one person and that's not a gift :p
So, Sociology would be a batter option as that can help understand you the trends and changes in the current mass and how to change your marketing skills or update them accordingly to succeed.
However, more logical approach would be to go with sociology as that will teach you the dynamics of the society, and afterall marketing is for mass and not a particular individual, unless you wanna sell only one item to one person and that's not a gift :p
So, Sociology would be a batter option as that can help understand you the trends and changes in the current mass and how to change your marketing skills or update them accordingly to succeed.
Thank you for your answer, it was very helpful.
Kelly